Arab Soccer in a Jewish State

Tamir Sorek earned his PhD in sociology and anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2002 and taught for three years at Cornell University. Today he is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Israel Studies at the University of Florida. His interest and publications centre on Israeli and Palestinian identities as well as Israeli-Palestinian relations. His study of these relations focuses on socio-historical dynamics, power relations, and the juncture of culture and politics. In his studies, Sorek combines both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. His current project, supported by a Fulbright fellowship, deals with the ways Israeli and Palestinian national memories dialogue and confront one another.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Sports, modernity and struggle in Palestine; 3. The emergence of the integrative enclave; 4. Soccer and municipal 'labor quiet'; 5. 'These points are Arab': nationalist rhetoric in the sports press; 6. 'Maccabi Haifa is my flag': Arab fans of Jewish teams; 7. The Islamic soccer league; 8. Sakhnin - between soccer and martyrdom; 9. Conclusion.

Review of the hardback: 'This is a surprising story of the only sphere in which Arab-Israeli relations do not seem to be in crisis. Sorek has written a subtle and apparently non-partisan account of the place of Arabs in the Jewish state. Thanks to its refreshingly clear prose, this book should have an appeal beyond specialists in the field.' Simon Kuper, author of Football Against the Enemy